The Death of Love: A Romeo and Juliet Alternate Ending
by Makayla1223
Summary: This was an English class assignment that I had to do. It's basically an alternate ending to the original play. I tried to make it more tragic than the original, but do to the limited time to write it, I was unable to make it pretty good. Sorry if it's crappy. Peace! *drops mic*


**Thank you so much for reading! This story is already completed and it would me so much to me if you reviewed it. I wrote it in 8th grade for an English project in attempts to make the already tragic love story even more tragic. It's a bit rushed since I had to turn it in, but right now, it serves more of a comdedy purpose. Hope you enjoy ^^**

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 **Starts Act VI Scene iii Line 70**

Because of Paris' hostility, Romeo became enraged. He had traveled all this way to mourn for the passing of his dead wife, and he is met with an angry nobleman. Romeo was already quite irritated (considering that he found out that his love died and all) and now his love rival tried to taunt him into a duel? That was unacceptable.

"Wilt thou provoke me?" Romeo spat out, glared at his loathed enemy. "Then have at thee, boy!"

Romeo drew his sword from its sheath and charged at Paris in pure hatred. Paris managed to par Romeo's deadly blade as he quickly drew his sword, deflecting the fatal blow. He then swiftly dodged the blade as Romeo hacked at Paris in a furry of reckless swipes. Romeo knocks Paris' sword out of his hand with a hard blow. Left defenseless, Paris had to resort to avoiding the attacks instead of delivering counter-attacks of his own. Finally, as Paris was dodging to the side, Romeo stuck his blade in his back, hitting his spine.

Paris fell to the ground and cried out in pain. "Curse you, vile Montague scum!" He attempted to get up and regain his balance, but he was unable to. He tried and tried again, but his efforts were futile. Paris' eyes widened in pure horror. "I-I can't feel my legs. What hath thou done!?"

"Now, if you excuse me," Romeo said, satisfied, "I have to go see my beloved WIFE now."

Paris screams for help and starts to thrash about wildly. "Why you! Thy cousin shall have thee head on a silver platter!"

Romeo pondered what to do with Paris. He decided not to kill him, for it would be far too dishonorable to kill a paralyzed man that was unarmed. Romeo tied Paris to a nearby tree and gaged him, not wanting reinforcements to arrive. Paris glared daggers at the Montague, but he could do nothing to prevent Romeo from entering the tomb of his dead fiancée.

Romeo descended down the stone spiral staircase that led to his beloved's final resting place. His boots hit the stone ground, disturbing the silence of the tomb. The foul odor of death hit Romeo as he walked into the cold vault. If his wife were not buried there, he would definitely not be willing to enter such a horror-dwelling abode. He felt unwelcome there, like Capulets of the past were there to ward him away in their ghostly forms.

Finally, Romeo spotted lover in the far corner of the tomb next to Tybalt. He approached her carefully and with extreme caution, as if he didn't want to disturb the dead. His eyes widened, surprised that her body was in such pristine condition, considering that it had been sitting in a tomb for more than a day. Juliet was in her fine burial linen and in her best outfit. He was enticed by her beauty for she looked as if she were merely taking a nap. He gently caressed her rosy cheek, trying not to weep. He was in so much pain and despair.

"Juliet, O Juliet…. What am I to do?" he managed to let out between sobs. "What is a world when it is without you? You were my everything…. Oh Juliet, my love, you… You were my sun….. You were my right when I felt so wrong…."

"This drug shall rid thy pain away…." Tears spilling down his cheeks, Romeo pulled out the vile of poison that he received from the apothecary. Determined, Romeo rashly pulled the cork off of the bottle of the deadly liquid. "My love, I drink to thee!"

As Romeo put his lips to the mouth of the tiny bottle, Juliet began to stir. Suddenly, her eyes flashed open. She quickly sat up and let out a gasp for air. Romeo hesitated for a second, taking the bottle away from his lips. "Tis only thy imagination," he said and put the bottle back to his mouth.

"Romeo? What are the drugs that thee speak of?" Juliet asked, groggily and rubbed her eyes. "I just had the strangest dream…." She spots the vile of poison and her eyes widen. Juliet swiftly smacks the bottle of poison out of Romeo's had. The bottle flew across the vault, its contents spilling on the stone floor.

"How dareth thou!" Juliet exclaimed in shock and rage. "You speak of love and yet you take thou life at the first opportunity given to you! Did you want me to awake only to find my husband dead on the stone floor? Had you not received the letter in which Friar Lawrence sent to you, informing that I had not met thy death!?"

"I received no such letter…" Romeo quickly replied, obviously scared out of his mind. "Is this some sort of scheme in which you had planned all along? Did though fake thee death or is this just some strange afterlife dream thy mind had made for thyself?"  
Juliet nodded. "Indeed. Thy death was merely a method, which with Friar Lawrence's guidance, have devised to set thee free from the obligations of our families."

Romeo felt a wave of relief, for he was afraid that Juliet was angry at him. Most of all, he was just joyful because of Juliet's revival. If it was a dream, Romeo never wanted it to end. He pulled Juliet into a passionate kiss, the cold tomb suddenly becoming less cold and scary. Nothing could stop their love now. Nothing at all…

"Come. Let us go and start our future together." Romeo said to Juliet and they leave the Capulet tomb together. Much to his dismay, the couple mounts onto Paris' horse and they rode off into the sunset before they could get caught by the watchmen.

They were finally going to live their happily ever after…. Or so they thought.

(Not) The End

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Juliet awakened to the sound of birds chirping through the window. Two long months had passed since they had escaped the Capulet tomb and Verona all together. Romeo and Juliet resided in a small home in the middle of a busy town not far from Verona. It all seemed like a dream of her wildest fantasies. Juliet rubbed her eyes and yawned loudly. She was surprised to find that Romeo was not in bed beside her.

 _Perhaps he is making breakfast for me or out to buy something from the market,_ Juliet thought optimistically

Juliet, still half asleep, stumbled over to the kitchen, hoping to find her husband there. Unfortunately, he was no where to be seen. Juliet frowned slightly, but then realized that he could also be in the dining room. The house seemed unusually quiet and empty.

She entered the room and found that Romeo was not there either! Her eyes darted to a small piece of paper sitting on the dining room table next to a vase of flowers. Juliet was happy to see some sign of Romeo. Maybe he had to run some errand in town and didn't want her to worry about him, so he wrote a note. She quickly unfolded the letter, eager to read its contents.

Sweet Juliet,  
Thy former love, Rosaline, had chosen not to give herself to the Lord. I must go to her and tell her of thy love for her at once. I apologize if I had let thee on. It never would have worked out anyway.  
-Romeo

Tears streamed down Juliet's face. Her very soul was aching and her heart felt like it was falling into an abyss of emptiness. Her head was filled with pure shock and sorrow. She could not believe that this was happening. Juliet fell down on the floor and started to cry loudly.

"How could he…" she whispered to no one in particular between sobs. "I thought we were going to be together forever…."

She hoped that she was only sleeping, that it was some sort of terrible nightmare. It was all too real though. She still could not believe that this was actually happening to her. They had been through so much together. They escaped their parents and managed to cheat death. Now he just ran off without even talking to her in person? Unbelievable. Juliet's eyes ran through the letter over and over again, as if she was making sure that it was not some sort of mistake. It was not. He was the first person to say that he loved her and called her beautiful. She was absolutely nothing without him. Nothing at all. She felt as if she had fallen into an inescapable void of darkness and mourning.

Juliet, thinking rashly as always, ran out of the house and mounted onto her horse. She rode to Verona, tears glistening in the sunrise. It was not a very long trip because their home was not far from there. She wished to see her parents one last time.  
Capulet and his wife were sitting at the table in their courtyard balcony. With the loss of their only daughter and heir, it had been extremely hard on them. It broke their hearts to have to see Juliet being put into her tomb at such a young age.

"Mother? Father?" Juliet said to her parents, breaking the silence. Their eyes widened, seeing their once-dead daughter before their very eyes.

"Juliet? Is that really you?" Lady Capulet asked her daughter. She turned to her husband who sat beside her to make sure that she was not seeing things that were not there.

"Yes mother. It is I." Juliet replied, her voice wavering a bit. She kept her head down; trying to mask the tears she shed for her former lover. "You have my most profound apologies. You were right….. I should have married Paris…."

Capulet and Lady Capulet's expressions soften. They are just glad to have their daughter back. They had long since forgave their daughter's rebellious actions, but have also come to terms with her "death".

"What are you doing, my precious daughter?" Capulet asked Juliet as he spotted her back away towards the balcony edge.

"I'm sorry." Juliet told her father. "Thy heart is too broken to ever move on again. I don't even deserve to live. I have since proven that to thee. Farewell."

Much to her parent's horrified expressions, Juliet stood up on the balcony ledge, beyond their reach. With those final words, Juliet stepped off of it and plummeted to the ground below. Lady Capulet let out a terrible scream of agony as she saw her daughter die once again before her very eyes. And then, only silence remained.

Not everyone gets their "Happily Ever After".

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 **Four Years Later (epilogue)**

On that fateful day in which Romeo left her, Juliet did not perish. Instead, she fell into the lap of Paris who had been sitting in the Capulet orchard below. It was like some sort of miracle. Paris, being paralyzed from the waist down, was dumb-founded by the Capulet girl falling on his legs that he did not feel since the duel with Romeo. Juliet cried and cried, distressed by her (many) failed suicide attempts and the fact that Romeo was out of her life forever. Unexpectedly, Paris became the shoulder for her to cry on. They quickly became friends, sharing their feelings and having adventures in Verona together. Her parents did not object to their relationship for they learned that they should just be grateful for their daughter's life. It stayed like this for two years. They shared their darkest secrets and deepest thoughts. Juliet didn't see Paris as a second choice or a poor paralyzed man. She saw him for who he really was. One day, Juliet and Paris became more than friends. On her sixteenth birthday, Paris promised to marry her when she turned eighteen.

Life seemed like it was finally turning around for Juliet. She loved Paris with all her heart. She loved everything about him- his sense of humor, his composure, the way he made her heart race and do backflips- not just his looks, although that wasn't too bad either. Romeo now was just a bad thought, nothing more.

Then, Juliet got the worst of news. She was dying. It started with exhaustion. Next, it was the constant nausea. Then, it escalated to coughing up blood and staying bedridden all day. Apparently, the sleeping potion had terrible side effects, causing her to have a shortened life. This was not how it was supposed to be. Juliet was to marry Paris and have her well-deserved happy ending. They were supposed to continue their lives loving each other and live out their lives together. She wanted to grow old with Paris. Now that wasn't an option anymore.

On a cool August day, Juliet died in the arms of her husband.  
"Don't worry, my love." she whispered in his ear softly… "I'll see you on the other side…"

With those words, she closed her eyes for the last time, drew her final breath, and passed. Paris sobbed and sobbed. That day, a piece of him died along with her. He tried to live on without her, but it was no use. His life fell apart and he no longer had the will to get out of bed knowing that she was not in it.

Writing a letter to his cousin, Paris scooted onto the balcony ledge, throwing himself off onto the ground below with a smile on his face, knowing that he would finally reunite with his love. There was no one to catch him.  
Romeo felt guilty deep down inside for leaving Juliet. It ate away at him and snuck into his deepest thoughts. It tormented him, driving him to insanity. At night, he snuck out of his house, away from his newly wedded wife, Rosaline. He took a vile of poison and drank it in front of Juliet's grave, wanting the ghosts that haunt him to finally stop tormenting their never-ending torment.

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 **As Always~**

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